A Sorcerer's Sense of Beauty
by Aissaz
Summary: Sorcerer's appear, stealing gifts in mysterious rituals, and threatening Schwarz. Snarky humor, romance, and mystery abounds as the group fights for powers they have never questioned and relationships they never dreamed of.


I was a beautiful child. Everyone used to say so, or at least that's what my parents used to tell me. I grew up with them, and a little sister, in a small village in Germany.  
  
No one knew that I could hear things, only those men in dark suits found out. I'm not sure how, I used to keep it really well hidden.  
  
I knew things, things a little boy shouldn't know. I knew my perfect father was having an affair with a lady named Helen. She was ten years younger then him and loved the color yellow.  
  
I knew my mother loved to fantasize about life as a singer, and my little sister had secretly eaten the last piece of cake, even though she vehemently denied it. I could hear everyone's confessions in their own mind though. I knew. But they didn't know I knew.  
  
No one knew, so how did those awful, stoic men? They came during the day; it was a beautiful autumn afternoon.  
  
I knew, too, that they wanted me. I suppose I should have just gone instead of making a fuss. But I didn't think of that.  
  
I knew, too, that a part of me died that day I watched my parents and little sister die.  
  
I think I grew up too quickly since then. I knew life would never be the same, but I swore I wasn't going to take it quietly. I watched them die, and I swore that I would never make anything that simple for anyone again.  
  
If they wanted me, and my talent, they were going to have to fight me for it every inch of the way.  
  
I guess that's why the organization hates me so much; they say I'm difficult. Who'd have guessed?  
  
~*~*~*  
  
I'm still beautiful. No one tells me anymore, but I can hear them thinking it. It's not the same beauty of a young child though. It has gone from clean, and white, and pretty, to something ugly and dirty. It a beauty people are no longer willing to simply observe and admire. It is a beauty they wish to possess and control.  
  
I don't like to be controlled though.  
  
They say that makes me difficult. Oh well.  
  
I'm being assigned to a man today, apparently to further my education or some crap like that.  
  
Snorts by my left elbow alerts me to the presence of three guards, come to escort me to another small office to meet my new boss. Oh goody.  
  
They attempt to take my arms to lead me, but I make it clear with a glare that I can walk just fine on my own, thank you very much. All they do is grunt, Neanderthals the lot of them.  
  
Upon entering the well-lit space, I immediately pick out the only respectable, and potentially dangerous, man in the room. He's young, dark, mysterious looking. Gorgeous as well, but then again, the dangerous ones usually are.  
  
He's sizing me up like cattle though; we were going to have to talk about that.  
  
A large, repulsive looking man who slightly resembled a hamster was also staring at me, but with a hunger in his eyes that made me shiver.  
  
"Ah, this must be the German," the rodent-like man attempted to drawl. It was quite a pitiful attempt however, and I remained unfazed.  
  
One of the guards nodded curtly.  
  
"Fresh from you," here he paused for what, I guess, he assumed would be a dramatic pause, "education?"  
  
I nodded; he was going to have to do much better then referring to that hell of a school I just got out of if he wanted me to open my mouth. I think he was just figuring that out as well if the twitch by his left temple was any indication.  
  
"Well, I suppose you shall do. Crawford, he may work for me as well if this is who you have chosen."  
  
The young man he referred to as Crawford raised an eyebrow, the look on his face suggesting that I would have worked for Crawford whether he had this mans permission or not, and that he should be so lucky we decided to work for him.  
  
"Thank you......sir." He bit out at length, and made a slight motion indicating I should follow him as he exited the office. The guards stayed behind as I silently followed.  
  
May I just add, this is very unusual for me to be so silent? But I was interested. I can be quiet when I want to be you know.  
  
He led me out to a dark car, and didn't say anything until he pulled out of the parking lot and into the heavy afternoon traffic.  
  
"My name is Brad Crawford, you can call me Crawford though. I'm going to be the leader of the group you have just been assigned to."  
  
That's all he said to me that first day, and I thought he was such an asshole. I still do. I also had such a crush on him. Ha, I still do. Funny how things don't change, even five years, hundreds of missions, and two new members later.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Bradley!" I whine, turning briefly to catch a look at the wince that flits across the older man's face.  
  
"What?" he grounds out, obviously trying to contain his annoyance? It has been twelve hours and only two cups of coffee since this stake out had begun, and while I should have been sympathetic to our leaders plight as well, I was not in the mood.  
  
"Are they almost here yet?" I moaned for about the twentieth time this hour. Crawford looked like he was itching to stretch his hands out and strangle me. I grinned internally.  
  
Before he could answer though, a hand clamped over my mouth from behind.  
  
"I swear to you, Schu, if I have to listen to that question one more time I am going to kill you, sell you organs on the black market, and use the money to buy the next edition of final fantasy."  
  
I laughed, grabbed the hand, and flipped the slight Japanese boy who I knew it belonged to over, and began to tickle him between threats of what I would do if he ever threatened me again. Really, the boy is like my little brother, but sometimes he freaks me out with some of the things he comes up with. I keep telling Bradley that he lets him watch too much TV.  
  
Speaking of our fearless leader, he is simply watching with a smirk and a quirked eyebrow. Damn him and his insufferable smirks. I swear one of these days, I'm going to wipe one of his holier than thou expression right off his face.  
  
I'm just going to have to find a large hole or possibly an undiscovered island to escape to afterwards, so he can't find me and kill me. Heh, small price to pay though for fulfilling a life long ambition, right?  
  
Finally, I let a breathless Nagi go. He tries to throw me an indignant look, but it is ruined by the fact that he has to shuffle away to get back to his computer due to the low ceiling. We are sitting up in the rafters waiting for a potential client.  
  
I've started calling them clients as it pisses Brad off.  
  
The man in question slinks into the warehouse a moment later, finally, and I can hear Farfello next to me preparing to move.  
  
Brad makes a motion for us to watch though, as a second man approaches. I recognize him as a boy three years younger then me at school. Yes, that school.  
  
He was a healer, if I remember correctly.  
  
"So, you are the one who answered my ad?" the stranger asked.  
  
"Yes," the boy answered simply.  
  
"And you are among the....gifted?" the stranger began to circle the healer. Schuldig felt Nagi shiver next to him, and he didn't blame the boy. The older man was looking at the young healer as a lion would his next meal.  
  
"Yes, I can heal. Are looking to employee or not?" the boy asked, obviously becoming nervous now. Schuldig didn't have a good feeling about where this was going, which was only confirmed by the line that had appeared between his American leader's brows.  
  
"Yes, yes I am looking to....employ....you." The man smiled, and it sent shivers down the redheads back.  
  
The boy went to reach the briefcase at his feat, and quick as a flash the older man drove a stake into his back. The shining blade exited again through his heart and the boy barely made a sound as the man twisted and just as quickly pulled the metal out.  
  
If we weren't sure about killing him then, we were now.  
  
I was about to move when Brad put a hand on my shoulder. The man wasn't done.  
  
Dropping to his knees, the man began to carve out the young healers heart. Somehow, I knew what was coming and covering Nagi's eyes quickly, pulling the young boy to me. We might be assassins, but we weren't gruesome. And this was just gross.  
  
I was about to insist we do something when the man brought a piece of the heart to his mouth. I caught my breath as something out of a horror film played out on the ground below. Even Farfie looked a bit ill as the still beating heart slipped between the man's teeth.  
  
I was caught in the horror below me, and barely noticed Brad's command to move. Pulling Nagi along, and trying to shield him from whatever weird ritual was going on, we made our way silently to the car out back.  
  
No one spoke on the way home after Nagi had demanded an explanation of what the man had done. I'm glad the boy didn't have to see that though, he sees enough blood as it is without that freak added to the list.  
  
Brad sat us down when we got back to the apartment.  
  
"We weren't sure, so we needed confirmation. There is a new league at work in Tokyo. They are called the Aissa, and they are run by sorcerers."  
  
He held up a hand to forestall questions.  
  
"Not your regular, child book pointyhatted, Harry Potter type of wizards." He continued before I could wonder how Brad would possibly know about Harry Potter. "These are real sorcerers, who obtain their powers from stealing them from other, gifted people. As you see, their rituals are barbaric and bloody, and require fresh victims. They pose a direct threat to us, and have become our primary targets. We begin research on them as of now. Please treat this mission with the utmost care, they are a bit more dangerous then what we are used to hunting."  
  
I couldn't believe it but Brad seemed genuinely worried.  
  
Nagi nodded as he got up. "I'll start on the computer now, ok?" He always was a studious kid.  
  
Brad nodded, and turned to return to whatever it was he did in his office.  
  
I glanced over to Farfie, who was watching me now with a single golden eye.  
  
"I guess we should go do something useful as well?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.  
  
"Hmm, yes, like re-hide our copies of Harry Potter? I knew someone moved my bookmark." Farfello looked so serious I couldn't help bursting into laughter. There was a shout from the direction of Brad's office, and we both jumped up to race to our rooms and pretend we were being helpful.  
  
I said goodnight to Farf in the hall and slipped into my bedroom to locate my stash of reading material. I thought Farfello was the only one who knew about it, mostly since many of the books were once his. Apparently, I was wrong, and there is another person in this household with secrets.  
  
Well, of course we all have secrets. I've never told anyone that my parents used to tell me I was a beautiful child.  
  
I would love to tell Brad one day, maybe, if it comes to that. I would love to tell him all about my childhood, but to do that I have to live to be a beautiful adult.  
  
I guess, only time will tell......  
  
~*~*~*  
  
*Ok, this is my first foray into fan fiction and I would love to hear reactions. Thanks! More adventure, snarky humor and romance if you think it's worth continuing ^_^ 


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